Healthy Eating: Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic and White Beans

Matt and I have crazy work hours and often eat dinner late, so I'm always looking for healthy, light recipes to make.  One of my favorite finds is a cookbook by Ellie Krieger called The Food You Crave. It has tons of easy, healthy recipes, that still have a lot of depth.  A lot of times we think of eating healthy as boring or not as satisfying, but it doesn't have to be! 

There are a lot of things you can do with vegetables or fresh herbs to make a dish both tasty and healthy.  For example, roasting.  This particular dish calls for roasted tomatoes and garlic, which is something I'd never tried. The flavors change so much through roasting and it could not be easier.  The sweet, tart flavor of the tomatoes, with the texture of the beans and strong, but somehow still subtle taste of garlic was an amazing combination. 

Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic and White Beans: Courtesy of Ellie Krieger

3 large ripe tomatoes 

6 large garlic cloves, papery outermost skin removed, but left unpeeled

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste 

Freshly ground black pepper

Once 15.5 ounce can cannellini or other white beans, preferably low-sodium (C: I used navy beans)

1/2 box (8 oz.) penne pasta (C: I use whole wheat)

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/3 c. fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons

1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese (C: I used Kraft blend from my last post)

Preheat oven to 450F.

Slice each tomato into 8 wedges and discard the seeds.  Put the tomato wedges and garlic in a 9x13-inch roasting pan, toss with 2 tbsp of the oil, and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and a few turns of the pepper.  

Roast, uncovered, until the tomatoes lose their shape and become slightly charred. 35 to 40 minutes. C: Start checking them at about 30 minutes

Drain the beans in a large colander in the sink. C: helps reduce the sodium

Cook the pasta according to the package direction.  Drain the pasta in the colander containing the beans, so that the hot pata water warms the beans.  Return the drained pasta and beans to the pasta pot.  

When the tomatoes are done, carefully pick out the garlic cloves, squeeze the garlic out of the skin into a small bowl, and mash with a fork.  add the lemon juice, the remaining 1 tbsp pil and 1/4 tsp salt, and a pinch of pepper, and stir to combine.  Transfer the roasted tomatoes to the pasta pot, add the garlic lemon mixture and basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Toss to combine. Serve with the Parmesan. 

 

Serves 4

Serving Size: 1.5 cups

Per Serving

476 calories

14.5g fat

A couple of notes:

• Although this is pasta dish, a lot of the calories usually come from the sauce, so since this doesn't have any, its still pretty healthy. However, the above nutrition facts may vary based on what kind of pasta you use. 
• Watch the tomatoes and garlic closely while roasting.  Mine were a little overdone, but I only roasted them for 35 minutes. 
• Go easy on the salt. There are a lot of strong flavors in this dish, and it's not really needed.

Cheers!

Claud

Lemon Ricotta Biscuits, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways....

Where oh where do I begin? Let's start with the texture... One of my favorite things about these "biscuits" is that they are more like a cross between a biscuit and a scone- which I just looove.  The melt-in-your-mouth kind of scone or biscuit, the kind that makes you reach for your coffee, close your eyes and say "mmmm." 

Don't believe me? Well let's talk flavor. The lemon, almond and ricotta are like best friends in this recipe.  The subtle tangy lemon, the sweet but bold almond, and the fluffy creamy ricotta create an impressive balance.  With none too overpowering, the results are pure perfection. 

Nonna's Lemon Ricotta Biscuits: Courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis
2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling 
1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp. finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 c. thinly sliced almonds

Yield: 12 Biscuits

1. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl to blend. C: Use the paper cups!! I did not, and wish I would have because, although they still tasted great, the outside layer of the biscuit that touched the pan was a bit more cooked than the top of the muffin. (See pictures below)  

2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, butter , and lemon zest until light and fluffy

Beat in the ricotta. Beat in the egg, lemon juice and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended (the batter will be think and fluffy).  C: In my opinion, the batter will resemble sticky mashed potatoes. 

3. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the almonds and some sugar over the muffins. C: Pretty please don't forget the sugar on top!

Bake until the muffins just become pale golden on the top, about 20 minutes. Cook lightly serve warm or at room temperature. C:Definitely serve warm!

C:Notice the bottom of the muffin is a little more cooked, it could be that I left them in too long, but I bet using the muffin cups would have helped.

A note on lemon zest: 

The white, inner part of the rind holds the bitter taste, so be careful not to over-grate the lemon.

Over-grated lemon

Nicely-grated lemon :)

Cheers!
Claud

Steak + Rosemary Roasted New Potatoes = Delicious

Last night I went to my parent's house for a little "goodbye" dinner for my brother who is headed back to school after a nice little holiday break (oh how I miss those!).  On the menu was New York strip, broccoli, and green beans, so of course I offered to bring my favorite steak side: Rosemary Roasted New Potatoes.  If you haven't made them before, do it! They're super simple, very tasty, and absolutely perfect with steak.    

Here's my favorite recipe courtesy of Luby's: 

5 lbs small red potatoes, halved 

1 cup olive oil 

2 tbsp chopped fresh garlic

2 tbsp of chopped fresh rosemary

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper


Preheat oven to 350. Put potato halves in a large mixing bowl and add olive oil, garlic and rosemary.  Toss ingredients together well. Place seasoned potatoes on a foil-lined large baking pan and place in oven. Roast about 45 minutes until the potatoes are slightly browned and tender. Remove pan from oven and place potatoes on a serving platter. Season with salt and pepper.  Stir roasting potatoes a few times during cooking to achieve even browning. 


TIPS
1. Be sure to rinse the potatoes! Sometimes they have bits of dirt...

2. After rinsing the potatoes, be sure to dry them well, it'll help the olive oil stick.

3. I like to quarter the larger potatoes otherwise the potato to skin ratio just doesn't seem right! Especially with the larger potatoes... 

4. Use extra virgin olive oil, it has a lighter taste.


5. In my opinion, chopped Rosemary tastes just as good as fresh! However, when buying dried herbs, remember that they only keep their flavor for 6 months to a year, so buy small. 


6. Use less salt then specified. You can always add more, but if you overdo it, you're just stuck with salty potatoes. Also, be sure the salt is relatively fine. The first time I made these, I used "coarse" sea salt and the crystals were too big.


7. Bake them about 5-10 minutes longer than specified. After 45 minutes they still seemed just a tad bit too light.  This could just be my oven since it runs about 5 degrees cooler than what it's set to.


Lastly, I like my potatoes kind of crispy, so I think next time I'll bump up the temperature to 375 or 400 to see if that helps. (If you have any tips for crispier potatoes, please let me know!)  Either way this side is a definite crowd pleaser!


Before baking, note the light color:

After:

And just to make your mouth water, here's what it looked like when it all came together! Delicious!

Cheers!

Claud